Burial-casket



(No Model.)

`W. c. LAUTNBR.

BURIAL GASKET. No. 559,457. Pateted May 5, 1896.

WITNESS/ES l NNrrnn STATES ATENT l OFFICE.

VILLIAM C. LAUTNER, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

BURIAL-GASKET.

SPECIFICATION frming part of Letters Patent No. 559,457, dated May 5, 1896.

` Application filed December 5,1895, Serial No. 571,093. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.'

Beit known that I, WILLIAM C. LAUTNER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Detroit, county of Wayne, State of Michigan, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Burial-Gaskets; and I declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification.

. My invention relates to burial-caskets; and it consists of the. construction, combination, and arrangement of devices herein after speciied and claimed, and illustrated in the accompanyin g drawings, in which- Figure l is a view in perspective of the completed casket, the base and cover portions being united. Fig. 2 is a similar viewof the cover in detail. Fig. 3 is a detail view of the base resting upon a suitable support. Fig. 4 is a cross-section on line 4 4, Fig. 1'. Fig. 5 is a detail view showing a fastening device toward the head of the casket. Fig. G is an additional detail view showing the fastening device at the foot of the casket. Fig. 7 illustrates a modification` in the form of shoulders for the cover and base.

In the public demand for burial-caskets there is a growing tendency and desire for modifications in the general form and construction hitherto common to dispense as much as possible with the solemnity of the accustomed appearance of caskets, and my invention is more particularly designed to meet this public demand.

I carry out my invention as follows:

In the drawings, A represents the base or bottom portion of a casket, and B the cover portion. As clearly indicated in Figs. l and 4, the line of separation between the cover and the base portions of the casket is made longitudinally nearly midway between the upper surface of the cover and the lower surface of the base. To this end the base is made with a shell A', extending upward from the bottom A2, the shell A being provided, preferably, with a molding a about the upper edge of the shell. To this shell A the handles C are attached. The head of the base A is raised, as shown', the shell Al being eX` tended upward toward the head thereof above the upper edge of the main portion or body of the shell. As shown in the drawings, the shell A' is curved upward, as indicated at a. I do not, however, limit myself solely to the curve of the shell upward in the precise form indicated, as the upper end of said shell might be projected upward with any other form of shoulder, either angular, as indicated in Fig. 7, or the shoulder may be of any desired form. This base portion A is upholstered, as indicated at D, the upper surface of the upholsterin g being preferably of concaved form, the base beneath the upholstering being stuffed with any suitable material, as indicated at D'. In order to support the head of the corpse, a pillow E is preferably provided, the pillow being held in place and properly inclosed at the outer sides thereof by the upwardly-projectin g portion of the shell A.

The outer surface of the shell A, at the extremities thereof, maybe of any desired form. The upholstering, it will be perceived, is located at the upper edge of the shell A', giving to the base portion A of the casket more the appearance of a couch whenthe cover is re- `moved than of a casket, the `body resting casket appearance of the base, the handles might be concealed by any suitable drapery, either secured at the upper edge of the base portion or to the cover portion, as indicated in dotted lines, Fig. l.

The cover portion B is constructed with a shell B, having an inclosing top B2. The top may be united to the shell B by a suitable molding, as indicated at b, if desired. The lower edge of the shell B is of an outline or form to correspond with that of the upper edge of the shell A of the base portion of the casket, the head portion of the shell B being cut away, as indicated at B3, to rest upon the IOO the side thereof, so that the lower edge of the shell B when resting upon the upper edge of the shell A will be concealed, the molding a concealing the joint or union of the two shells. The portion B of the casket is upholstered also in any desired manner. Vhen the body is in place upon the lower portion or base A of the casket, the upper portion B will be entirely removed and may be placed out of sight until the burial services are over.

In applying the cover B to the base A of the casket I prefer, in order to join them se curely, that the cover B shall be given a longitudinal movement toward the head of the base, suitable fastening means for this pur pose being provided. In the drawings I have shown the cover portion B provided with dowel-pins b at the shoulders b2, where the head of the cover portion is cut away upward to correspond with the upwardly-project-ing portion of the head of the base A. These dowel-pins proj ect into corresponding orifices a2 in the corresponding shoulder of the base portion, the dowel-pins entering said orifices by moving the cover B toward the head of the base A. At the foot of the casket I have shown a spring latch or bolt G to hold the coverBupon the base A. I do not, however, limit myself solely to any specific fastening devices for uniting the cover portion B upon the base A. It will be seen that by constructing the base A with an upwardly-projecting portion at the head forming the shoulder a the shoulder forms a stop for the cover as it is moved into place longitudinally of the base.

While I do not limit myself to the construction of the shells A' and B of the base and cover, respectively, of any specific vertical wid th, the one relative to the other, yet I prefer that the line of separation between them shall be about midway between their united vertical brcadths, the shell of the base A forming a panel a3 below the molding a from the raised portion at the head of the base to the foot of the casket of about the same width as the corresponding panel b3 of the cover portion B, reaching from the shoulder b2 to the foot. The panel b3 of the cover B extends from the lower edge of the shell up to the molding l), while the panel a3 of the base extends from the upper edge of the shell A down to the bottom of said shell.

Vhile I prefer that the shell of the base should project upward at the head, as shown, I believe it to be novel to construct a casket wherein the meeting edges of the panels a3 b3 are intermediate the upper edges of the panel b3 and the lower edges of the panel a3, whether the shell of the base be raised at the head thereof or not, and I therefore contemplate such a construction as comin g within the scope of my invention.

Vhat I claim as my invention is- 1. In a burial-casket, the combination of a base constructed with a panel a3 projecting upward at the head thereof, to form a raised head portion, and forming a shoulder a at the upwardly-projecting edge of the panel, and a removable cover constructed with a panel b3 cut away at the head thereof to correspond with the raised head portion of the base, and forming a shoulder b2 corresponding to the shoulder a of the base, and fastening devices engaged with the cover and base to secure the cover to the base, said shoulders forming a stop in moving the cover into place whereby the fastenings of the cover and base will be caused to register, substantially as set forth.

2. A burial-casket consisting of a base proj ecting upwardly at the head thereof, a cover cut away at the head thereof to correspond with the upwardly-projecting portion of the base, fastenin gs toward the head of the casket longitudinally disposed and located at the incline b2 whereby the cover may be moved longitudinally into place and thereby secure it firmly to the base, and an additional fastening at the foot of the casket to unite the cover and base, the upwardly-projecting portion of the base forming a shoulder or stop for the cover in moving the cover into place, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I sign this specification in the presence of two witnesses.

VILLIAIWI C. LAUTNER.

llfitnesses:

N. S. WRIGHT, MARY A. MARTIN. 

